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Ghosts of Christmases Past

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The days before Christmas in New Haven are a good time to ponder how New Haven Christmases were before. …

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Gone Bust

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It’s easy to miss the empty pedestal near the summit of East Rock. …

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War Zone

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New Haven has been many cities in its nearly 400 years. Picture this one…

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Court Dates

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I’m as likely to indulge in “golden age thinking” as any mortal, and I admit, I’ve always harbored a desire to time-travel to the early days of the New Haven Colony. …

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Stone Turned

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It was 1822. The population of the United States had just crossed 10 million. James Monroe was in his second term as president, having won all but a single electoral vote. In New Haven, cattle-grazing had been banished from the …

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Water Towers

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Along the eastern reaches of the Long Island Sound is a constellation of lighthouses dating mostly to the 19th century. Built in places where shipwrecks were frequent, they’re a testament to…

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Sticky Business

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A number of New Haven inventions have changed the course of history—the cotton gin, vulcanized rubber, the telephone exchange.

Less impactful, but more joyful, is the Lolly Pop…

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Brothers’ Keepers

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If you asked me to name the most eccentric Connecticuters in history, the Boothe brothers of Stratford—David (1867-1949) and Stephen (1869-1948)—would get my nod. One story of many recounted in the 2015 history Red, White and Boothe is that these …

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Horror Movie

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Almost 100 years to the day after its Hollywood premiere on October 30, 1921, The Sheik got a centenary Blu-ray. Cinephiles in general may remember the movie for…

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Ship Sailed

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The season of crisp air, changing leaves, apple orchards and pumpkin patches is also the season of ghosts and their stories.

Interestingly, New Haven’s most famous ghost story features an apparition that brought closure, not terror.

The early days of …

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